Opinion
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor

Talent Is Often Innate

June 04, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

In a recent article, Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, is quoted as saying that “talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not” (“The Battle Over Who Gets Into Elite Public Schools,” May 8, 2019).

The news story highlights the controversy over student admission to the nation’s elite high schools. That controversy is based on the false assumption that lack of opportunity alone is the culprit. But this perspective overlooks the role that innate ability plays in achievement. With Kahlenberg’s line of thinking, once opportunity’s inequity is corrected, equal outcomes will follow.

This is wishful thinking. Consider musical ability: Children can be given the same instrument lessons, receive the same support from their parents, and get the same diet and exercise, but their performances will not be equal because talent varies widely. In fact, some of the greatest musicians come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.

Talent is largely innate, despite claims to the contrary.

The author previously wrote for the Walt Gardner’s Reality Check opinion blog on edweek.org and now blogs at theedhed.com.

Walt Gardner

Education Blogger

Los Angeles, Calif.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the June 05, 2019 edition of Education Week as Talent Is Often Innate

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Equity & Diversity The Perception of Suburban Schools as White and Wealthy Needs to Change, Researchers Say
The student body of suburban schools roughly mirrors that of the nation. But a view of suburban schools as mostly white persists.
3 min read
Peggy Carr, Commissioner of the National Center for Education, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press about the National Assessment of Education Process on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington.
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. She spoke at a Nov. 29, 2023, conference in Washington on the growing diversity of the nation's suburban schools.
Alex Brandon/AP
Equity & Diversity Race Is a Big Factor in School Closures. What You Need to Know
Districts are more likely to close majority Black schools, researcher says.
5 min read
Key in keyhole on wood door
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Equity & Diversity Opinion There's a Difference Between Equity and Equality. Schools Need to Understand That
Equity looks different depending on the situation, and it's not always straightforward. That can cause confusion.
15 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity What the Research Says New National Data Show Depth of Disparities in a Chaotic Year of Schooling
The first federal civil rights data released since the pandemic show that inequities persisted even when school buildings shut down.
10 min read
Tanya Holyfield, a second grade teacher with Manchester Academic Charter School, teaches remote students from her classroom on March 4, 2021, in Pittsburgh.
Tanya Holyfield, a 2nd grade teacher at Manchester Academic Charter School, teaches remote students from her classroom on March 4, 2021, in Pittsburgh. New federal data from the 2020-21 school year show that longstanding inequities among groups of students did not change much even in a year when many students spent all or part of the year in remote and hybrid learning.
Andrew Rus/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP